Just when I thought the screaming could not get any louder, a new chorus of high pitched shrieking and 'Oh My Gawds!' erupted from the front of the crowd. Yep, Jasper Whitlock must have finally arrived at the theater and the whole space outside was filled with screaming fans, fawning interviewers and innumerable cameras. The theater stood at one side of a broad plaza, bordered with neon signs and large screens, feeling somewhat like the middle of a sports stadium. Everyone one in the plaza was focused on, if not physically converging on the spot Jasper currently occupied. It reminded me of the time I got talked into a bridal sale and almost got trampled in the stampede as the doors were opened.
I was standing on the red carpet - well, technically it was mainly black with some red and gray patterns – but, it was THE carpet that all the cast would also walk. The cast being the stars of the of the blockbuster vampire series that had dominated pop culture for the past several years. This particular red carpet was the last for this ensemble of actors, the premier of the fifth and final film of the series.
My best friend, Angela Weber Cheney, had gotten passes to the première as a gift from her father, a Hollywood producer, in celebration of her divorce from her loser husband, Ben. That's why I was here in Los Angeles, supporting Angela as her divorce was finalized in court yesterday and helping her "get her groove back" by attempting to orbit close enough to Jasper Whitlock to absorb some of the excess sexual energy he emitted.
I was just glad to be having this little "vacation" at all. I was a devoted wife and working mother of two kids, Billy and Claire, both under the age of six. My husband Jacob and I had a modest home in the Maryland suburb of Takoma Park and we both worked our butts off to afford it. Jake was a motorcycle mechanic and part-owner of a garage outside of Washington, D.C. and I worked as a policy advisor at a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting better nutrition in school lunch programs. With two children about to enter the school system, it was a cause close to my heart. Between the Congressional schedule, doing the job of three people at the office, and arranging for the care of the kids for the six days I would be gone, only the depth of my friendship with Angela was enough to get me here.
Angela and I had been roommates while attending college in Washington, D.C. and stayed close friends even after she had moved back to LA to be close to her family. I had been a shy, bookish girl from the small town of Forks, Washington and immediately taken to the smart, cosmopolitan, and kind Angela. We bonded over being West coast girls away from home for the first time and spent the next six years growing to be like sisters. We both got married and started our families within a few years of each other which helped to maintain our relationship over the distance.
Tonight, Angela and I were loitering near the entrance to the theater, postponing the walk inside. All the action was still outside and Angela did not want to miss a second of Jasper. She had never been one for celebrity crushes with living in LA and occasionally meeting famous people that her father worked with; they were just folks in the entertainment business. But as her marriage to Ben began to disintegrate, a celebrity crush was a good distraction from her actual life. If she wanted to fawn over Jasper and maybe have the chance to meet him, I fully supported her adolescent behavior.
And, I was not so above the adolescent fawning myself. I, in particular, had a bit of a crush on Jasper's best friend, Edward Cullen. Of course, Jasper Whitlock as the star and romantic lead of the series was very good looking, but he had a couple equally attractive friends that had been propelled to fame along with him. Edward was also an actor and grew up with Jasper in London. They shared friends, clothes, scripts, drunken escapades and a legion of speculators about their romantic entanglements. While Angela was hoping to get close to Jasper, I was just hoping to enjoy the spectacle. Besides, I had a hot husband at home. Jake was well over 6 feet tall with dark eyes and hair, and the smile that could light up a room. But still, I wouldn't mind a glimpse of Edward.
"Bella, he's heeerrreee," Angela squealed in my ear while jumping up and down next to me.
"Ang, I can tell from the increase in decibels," I hissed back, "and you need to stop screaming; it's already deafening here and you look like an idiot."
"Oh, and what should I do to express my excitement, crack correspondent Bella Black? Get my interview questions ready?" Angela teased me. She was referring to the short list of questions I had prepared in case I did have the opportunity to speak to Edward. They weren't professional journalist style, more like a psychological test so that they could not evade answer like so many open ended questions. Celebrities always seemed to be able to evade open-ended questions they did not want to answer. They also were pretty good at evading point blank questions too, but I just didn't want to be one of those people that don't know what to say when they meet a famous person. I didn't want to waste my 15 seconds with Edward reciting trite compliments.
"Thanks for reminding me," I replied taking my short list out of my handbag. The crowd near us seemed to grow a bit more agitated and Angela stood on her toes trying to see what was causing the commotion.
"It's just Maria," she said indifferently. Maria Houston was the romantic lead of the series and seemed to be Jasper's off-screen romantic interest too. I was ambivalent about whether or not their romance was real, but speculation was rife among the series fans.
We stood back a bit as Maria and her handlers passed by where we were standing so that she could get closer to her screaming fans. The crowd near us was jostling together in unsteady anticipation. Thinking of my clumsy feet and the pair of heels Angela talked me into wearing, I looked for a slightly less open spot to stand. As I backed toward a corner of the carpet near the theatre entrance, I caught the heel of my low pumps and stumbled into someone.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, I don't know why my friend forced me out of the house in heels," I apologized to the person as I attempted to right myself. I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks under the curtain of my long brown hair.
"It was my completely my fault," a low, hypnotic British accent replied. "I was trying to creep away inconspicuously from the crowd and wasn't paying attention." Crap, I recognize that voice. Of course the one person I hoped not to be a complete idiot in front of was the one person I managed to assault with my clumsiness. I finally peered from behind my hair to see a chagrined Edward standing to my right. He was wearing a black suit tailored in a sharp 1960s style and his dark locks were hanging in the usual disarray around his head. One strand had fallen over an electric blue eye causing my fingers to drift up with the urge to smooth it back.
"No, we both must have been attempting to head for the most inconspicuous spot on the carpet and just happened to arrive at the same time. I'm sure if there is any fault it's mine," I rambled. Okay, happened to arrive at the same time, thanks brain, is that all you've got. I felt the blush reignite on my cheeks.
"Do you mind if I share your spot for a few minutes. I'm just waiting for a friend," he replied like everyone in a square mile radius did not know exactly who he was and why he was there.
"I know. I know," I stuttered. "I mean, of course you can stand here, I'm glad to share THE inconspicuous spot." I looked over to Angela in a panic, but Jasper must have approached right behind Maria because all I could see was Ang's head bobbing up and down a few feet away with a small crowd of people between us now.
When I looked back to Edward, he smiled tentatively and extended his hand. "I'm Edward, it's very nice to share THE spot with you," he quipped charmingly. I reached out my hand to shake his and then noticed I was grasping my paper with the interview questions on it. After awkwardly transferring the paper to my other hand, I shook his hand.
"Uh, Bella," I finally responded. He must think I was slow and I just spit out the first thing I could think of…well, probably because I had practiced saying it just in case. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions, uh, sort of like an interview, but not really…more like a psychological experiment, but I'm not a doctor or anything, so…"
"A psychological experiment, that's, um, unexpected…alright, I guess I'm not really doing anything else," he said and seemed to be mildly amused and curious.
"Okay," I explained, "these are either/or questions and you can't answer maybe, but you can pass if you want."
"Alright," he replied waiting.
"Black or white," I asked, starting the interview.
"Ahhhh, black, I guess." I was secretly happy he had said 'black' since that is my last name and I gave a little smirk. "What?" he asked, "Did I answer right?"
"There is no right or wrong," I said bringing my hands up to my chest and bowing a bit. "There just is," I said in imitation of new age hippy speak.
"Next question… book version or movie version?" This question was designed to help me officially determine if he was more passionate about film or literature. I knew he liked both, but I really wondered where his heart lay.
"That depends, but, I mean, books are usually much more intricate… they can contain much more detail…and be interpreted as the reader wishes or can imagine." He closed his eyes as he tried to explain, like he was recalling what he had imagined the last time he'd read a book.
"Of course movies and all film in general allow one particular vision of a story or an idea to be explored, often quite beautifully, but also within constraints and…limitations…it's more of a collective vision of a group of people rather than some individual idea." He rambled this looking me straight in the eyes, almost as if lecturing and looking for a flash of understanding from a student.
"It's an either or question…" I scolded so that I wouldn't get swept away staring back.
"Well, I suppose I would have to say I prefer not having to compromise the intellectual effort…no that's not exactly what I mean, but you get the general idea." It was endearing and reassuring that he was as much at a loss for words as I was.
"I'd probably have to say book version." he concluded with a grin and lift of his chin.
"You are not very good at simply answering interview questions are you? Would you prefer an exam?" It was easy to tease him since he was so self-depreciating even after he'd basically recited an essay on film and literary theory.
"No exams, please," he groaned, "I'm not overly fond of being graded and didn't you say there is no right or wrong?"
"I wouldn't grade it, it would just be for extra credit," I retorted back, unwilling to let him use my words against me.
"And what would I get to do with all that extra credit?" he drawled at me in his soft accent. His blue jewel eyes sparkled in challenge back to me. My heart stopped.
"You would get a chance to answer my next question." It was a total cop out answer, but I was a little shaken by how quickly our conversation became a flirtation…thrilled, but a bit frightened. Plus, I really could not say some of the things I would let him do out loud, so I flicked my hair back showing a bit of defiance instead.
"Okay, on to number three… hi-fi or low-fi?" I was all business, but I was also insanely curious about his answer to this question. I knew Edward was a music fan and a bit of a musician too, but we probably had really incompatible musical tastes. My passion was live music; the grittier the better and I really liked the low-fi sound of vinyl records. I wondered if he would share my taste or even know what I was asking.
"Um, you mean like musically?" he asked for clarification and I nodded and grinned idiotically with joy.
"I guess I would have to say low-fi, although for certain technical stuff I would probably prefer the hi-fi recordings so that the finer points of the recording process wouldn't be dropped out." I loved how he pronounced his words, like process with a long o - English public-school proper, but mumbled all together at the same time.
"Me too," I couldn't help but reveal although he probably didn't really care and was just humoring me so he wouldn't be bored while waiting for Jasper to finish up on the red carpet.
He leaned closer to my ear and teased, "Isn't the researcher supposed to be neutral in these types of experiments?" I felt his warm breath on my ear and gave a little shiver of delight.
I leaned to him in turn and said in his ear, "Yes, but I'm not really a researcher."
"Then what are you?" His eyes locked with mine in a silent dare to continue the flirtation.
"Curious." I deadpanned.
"Me too," he crooned. "How many more questions do you have on your list?" His question meant to subtly challenge my lead.
"A few… Do you want more?" I asked, blatantly teasing him now. I was still a little bit scared to flirt openly with him, but it felt natural and it was so easy.
"Is that one of your questions? It's not an either/or. Let me see the list." He put his head closer to mine attempting to read my scribbles.
"Excuse me, Edward," a pretty blonde woman interrupted our banter. "Jasper is going in now." Abruptly, Edward stood up and stepped back towards the door.
"Delightful meeting you Bella," he said carefully for our audience of one. "I appreciate you sharing the perfect spot."
I nodded, not trusting myself not to reply under the watchful eyes of the woman. I had definitely found out that Edward Cullen had a way of making me act like a spellbound groupie.
As I watched him retreat into the theater, Angela finally found her way back to my side.
"Did you see? I got about two feet away from Jasper. I almost touched him," Angela gushed.
"No," I responded, "the crowd was too thick."
I decided to keep the exchange between Edward and me to myself, at least until the end of the evening. Angela was too hopped up on Jasper and I didn't want to steal her thunder. Maybe she would have a chance to meet Jasper at the after party and then we could trade our stories without either of us feeling disappointed.
"I think we should go to our seats now. I heard that the movie was about to start," I said to channel Angela away from the topic and into the theatre. I couldn't wait for the movie to begin so I could replay the exchange between Edward and me without interruption.